TEEX Spanish Fire School trains firefighters from 18 countries

Spanish-speaking firefighters from around the world are wrapping up a week of intense training at the world-renowned Brayton Fire Training Field in College Station.

Wednesday, instructors, firefighters and Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) staff paused for a ceremony at the Guest Instructors’ Memorial Wall, which honors the late guest instructors who have taught during the Spanish, Industrial and Municipal Fire Schools throughout the years.

Instructors’ names are engraved in the granite wall, giving lasting memory to those who dedicated at least 10 years to training firefighters at Brayton each summer. Over the years, many of these instructors used vacation time and paid their own expenses to train their emergency response counterparts.

This week, exactly 700 firefighters from the following countries have attended the annual Spanish school:

Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Spain, USA, Venezuela and, for the second consecutive year, the Republic of Guinea (West Africa).

Thursday night, the students and instructors celebrate the end of training with a formal banquet at the College Station Hilton.

Friday will consist of mostly final testing before the students begin the journey back to their home countries.

Next week, Brayton Fire Field will host the 46th annual Industrial Fire School, which caters to the petrochemical industry.

Dates to watch

July 14-18: 46th Annual Industrial Fire School

July 16: Guest Instructors’ Memorial Ceremony, 7:30 a.m.

July 21-25: 79th Annual Municipal Fire School

July 20: Trade show for emergency responders, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Reed Arena, TAMU Among nation’s largest and features latest fire trucks and firefighting equipment

July 23: Guest Instructors’ Memorial Ceremony, 12 p.m.

July 23: Public night burn. Everyone is invited. Gates open 7 p.m. A children’s fire-awareness class — featuring clowns — begins at 7:30 p.m. Immediately following the awareness class, live fire prop demonstrations will be burned on the field.

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